Curtain-fixture.



PATBNTED PEB.18, 190m Gf H. Posyfpn. CURTAIN FIXTURE.

APPLIGATIONTILBn MAR. 6-,1 1905.

,j @M7 Wwf/ CURTAIN-FIXTURE.

pplication filed March 6. 1905. Serial 110.248.634. v`

Toall whom .it may concern.: Be it known that I, GEORGE H. Foksr'rir, a citizen of the United. States, residing at Chicago, in thev county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and uscful lImprovements in ,Curtain-ltixturcs, of

which the following is-a specification. YMy invention relates to improvements in fcurtain fixtures of that general type wherein y a spring-actuated curtain or shadeis provided at its lower end. with a curtain-stick carrying spring-pressed heads or slices adapted to frictionally engage the sides of the casing or rooves therein to hohl the curtain at any ad- ,15 )usted position-against the pull of the curtainroller.

`My invention has for'its principal object the production ofaniniprovcd and simplified vfixture. of that class wherein spring-pressed y2,0L elongated heads on the ends of the curtainstick carry rollersadapted to engage the ver- .ticalside members of the window or othei; casing. Heretofore in such devices the heads have usuallylbeen provided with fric- 4,25'ftiona'l li'oldingdevices which are pressed into lrictional holding engagement with the bot' tom or side walls of grooves in the casing in o order toliold tlie'shade in adjusted position -againstlthe upward pull o f the curtain-roller v30 spring.

ln some cases braking devices carried by thehead are applied to rollers under the outj 'ward. thrust of\ the curtain-stick springs whereby it-is proposed to convert the rollers 'c from anti-friction devices into frictional hold- 'fling devices. ll'lxpresent invention is an inii provenient upon this latter type, being chiefly idistiuguishedby the omission of such sepa- "atc braking devices, and employing in place 40 hereof means whereby thefriction roller is rptarded through continuouslv acting expansrble means scrving to force a sidi` of the roller vwfainst the adjacent wall of the head, there-- bl producing. friction thcrcbetween rctarding fi'cfedomfof rotation of the rollcr on its hoarilisi- Nlyinv'eniion, inits' preferred forni, is illusy trat :d in the accompanying drawing, whereinglil'c. l is"v auelevational view, part-ly brokpii out, of a. portion of a curtain carrying one end of the. fixture-, Fig. 2 is al face view of.

tlie'h ad or shoe ol' the fi-xturc with on(` of the roller. 'and its mounting in centra-l vertical section; Fig. b is a face View ol one of the friction rollers; Fig. 4 is a similar view of the Specification of Letters Patent.

UNirEi) STATES PATENT'OFFICE.

GEORGE H. FoRsY'rH, oF cH'i'cAco, ILLIN'ois.

j'- -Patented Feb. 18`, 190.8;

opposite face of the-roller; .5 is a detail end view of the preferred expansible means for frictionizing the roller against the side -a. modification, wherein a single frictionivzing device is employed in associationwith antifriction rollers in tlieends of the head. 65

Referring to the drawing, `10 indicates a fragment of the lower portion Aof a-wind'ow or other curtain, in and transversely of whicli'isf f mounted the usual hollow curtain stickl' 1, the latter carrying in each end the shank 1,2 i0v of a hollow head 13, normally pressed outi wardly by the curtain stick spring 14. t Carried by the ends of the head and fixed in and between the side walls thereof'are pins 14 constituting the a'xles or journals of a pair 75 of rollers 15, each of said rollers,'as best shownv in Fig. 3 and in the sectional portion of Fig.

2, is singularly coneaved orhollowed on one side,as shown at 1.5? to constitutetlie housing and bearing .for one end of fa coil compression spring 16, said springbearing at one end against the counter-sunlijlace of'the roller and at its other end against the innerfsurface of the opposite sidewall of the head., Pref- Y erably, and as herein.,shown,saidspring is of a conical form externally, and is disposed with its'larger end bearing-:against the roller and its smaller end enga-ging the head. v The lat'side. of the roller which engagesthe kside wall of the head is preferabljr provided with a .roughcned fi'ictional surfacefas' indicated at 15b in Fig. 4.

As scen in Fig. 1, ,the head 13. vis engaged with the vertical side of therasingior with tlu` usual groove `therein, being either fitted accurately thcrctu or outwardly thrust thereagaiust by thc spring 1-1, where the latter is employed; so that the peripheries of the rollers 15 are in contact with: the verticalwall of said casingor groove therein" `Owing,

however, to the fact 'that thespring-l-ac'ts continuously, through its expansive quality,

Ato force the [lat side of the roller against" 4the riphery ofthe roller and the wall 'of the casina' sa p' y 879,533

to overcome theull of the curtain-raisingV spring and cause t e curtain to remain in any position to which it may be adjusted. To adjust the curtain manually, the rods carrying the heads may be rovided with the usual retractingpinch-han les.(not shown) whereby the friction rollers are retracted from engagement with the easing; or, where the ead-retractin means are absent, the fixturev can be manually moved up or down by applying suiiicient force to overcome the retracting e ect createdby the ac'tion of the springs 16.

Figs. 6' and 7 illustrate a slight modification, wherein, instead of employing a pair of friction rollers, one at each end of the head, I may employ a single friction roller 15 at the center of the head, in association with antifriction rollers 17 mounted to rotate freely in the eiids of the head and serving to facilitate self-ri hting of the curtain when tilted or cante from a horizontal position, as is well understood in the art.

From the foregoing it will be seen that when the fixture 1s in place in the casing the continuously acting expansive thrust of the spring or s rings 16 causes one side of the roller or ro 1ers 15 to continuously hug the adjacent surfaces of the side wall, the friction resulting from which roduces a considerable brakin effect upon t eroller; and this prevents the ee rolling movement of the periphery of the roller over the wall of the casing and causes it to frictionize against the latter suiiciently to overcome the normal up- Ward pull of the curtain-raising spring and remain m any fixed or. adjusted position.

This invention is believed to embody a f broadly new rinciple of operation in a curtain fixture o this general t e, to the extent that the roller braking e ect is produced laterall between the roller and the head underit e thrust of a continuously acting exlpansible member engagin the o ppsite side of the roller. Hence, I o not limit the invention to the particular construction shown or to the particular means herein shown and described for carrying out this principle, exce t to the extent indicated in specific claims.

claim: A

1. The combination with a curtain stick,

of a head at the end of the stick, a' roller rotatably mounted in the head, and expansible rumrA-w-r 3. The combination with a curtain stick,

of an elongated hollow head at the end thereof, a roller rotatably mounted in said head and adapted to peripherally contact with the window frame, and expansible means o erating laterally upon said roller to create rictional contact between one side of the latter and the adjacent surface of the head, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a curtain stick, of a head carried thereby, a roller carried by said head, and an elastic thrust-member to force said roller sidewise laterally of the head into frictional contact with aside wall of the latter, whereby the-rotation of said roller is retarded, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a curtain stick, of a hollow head at the end thereof, a roller rotatably mounted in said head and adapted to peripherally contact with the window casing, and a spring located and operating between one side of said roller and the adjacent side of the head to crowd said roller into frictional lateral engagement with the opposite side of the head, whereby the rotation of said roller is retarded, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a curtain stick and a spring-pressed head mounted on the end thereof, of a roller carried by said head,

and continuously acting means engaging one side of said roller to force the opposite side of the latter into frictional engagement with the head, substantially as described.

7.' The combination with a curtain stick and a hollow head mounted on the end thereof, of a roller rotatably mounted in said head said roller having one face thereof made flat and the other face hollow, and a sprin f housed in said hollow face of the roller an abutting against the opposite side of the head whererby toA retard the rotation of said roller by forcing the flat face thereof into Y frictional engagement with the adjacent side of the head, substantially as described.

GEORGE ll. FORSY'llI. Witnesses:

. JEROME W. MlLmNo'roN,

FREDERICK C. GOODWIN. 

